


The Most Magical Time of the Year

by HeidiJames28



Category: Cricket RPF
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Family Feels, Family Fluff, M/M, Other relationships mentioned - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:33:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29384208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeidiJames28/pseuds/HeidiJames28
Summary: The festive season in a house with 17 cricketers (plus a few extras).
Relationships: Alastair Cook & Sam Curran, Dom Bess/Sam Curran, Jofra Archer/Tom Curran, Sam Billings & Sam Curran, Sam Curran & Ollie Pope, Sam Curran & Tom Curran
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	The Most Magical Time of the Year

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, it's been so long again. Also, let's pretend this isn't being released almost two months after Christmas. 
> 
> Hope you all had a great winter and happy holidays and that you're all staying safe and healthy.
> 
> As always, I seem incapable of not hurting Sammy at least a little bit so he does get a little bit upset in this. Nothing major just a few conversations about missing his dad with both Bilbo and TC. 
> 
> The song TC sings is a South African/Zulu lullaby (it is from google so I hope it's all correct).

Sammy was bouncing happily in his seat, staring out of the window and looking at the freshly falling snow. Ali laughed, causing the blonde to spin around, blushing heavily. "You know standing by the window won't make them come home any quicker, right?" 

"I know, daddy," Sammy responded, grinning happily when Ollie walked in, sitting down next to Sammy and handing him a mug of steaming hot chocolate, "but the trio have gone to get the tree and when they get back we can decorate." 

Ali smiled softly as Ollie wrapped an arm around Sammy's shoulders letting the younger boy curl up next to him, sipping his hot chocolate as they both looked out the window. "I never expected you to be so excited about decorating for Christmas." 

Sammy's eyes grew sad as he looked back at Ali and the batsman knew he'd struck a nerve. "Mum never really cared about the holidays but dad loved it so he and I would decorate and sing really loudly, it always irritated Ben and Tommy," Sammy's voice was soft and emotional, wavering slightly as he thought about those times, "after he was gone, there was no one to decorate with. He died in October so no one wanted to celebrate the first year and by the next year, we'd moved to England and everything was different." 

"Different how?" Ollie asked, letting Sammy burrow further into his arms. He knew asking would upset his friend but he also knew the little bowler had to let it all out or he'd be miserable over Christmas. 

Sammy took a deep breath, letting it out shakily before he began speaking. "Tom moved out pretty early on in the year and Ben made loads of friends at cricket. I just didn't fit in so well. Mum was so lost in her grief that I think she forgot she ever had kids. When Christmas came, I realised she'd left the decorations in South Africa and it felt like the last connection I had to him was gone." 

"He's not gone, Sammy," Ollie promised, kissing the top of his head softly, "as Sirius said; the ones who love us never really leave us." He pressed his hand against Sammy's chest, causing him to let out a wet giggle. 

Ali stepped forward, carefully pulling his youngest into a warm hug. "Don't worry, Bubba," he murmured in his ear, "we'll make this the best Christmas ever." Sammy let out a happy noise, pulling away and bouncing again when he saw Ben coming up the drive, dragging a tree, with Eoin and Mark behind him struggling to drag a smaller tree between them. 

"Why two, daddy?" Sammy asked, looking up at Ali with inquisitive eyes. 

"We're going to put one in the garden with some lights and the other in the living room," Ali explained, "why don't you and Ollie head to the attic and grab the tree decorations while Ben puts it up okay, then you two can decorate it however you want?" 

"Will you help, daddy?" 

"Of course, bobble," Ali replied, laughing when Sammy jumped off his seat sprinting out of the room with Ollie close behind him. The ex-cricketer pulled out his phone as soon as they were both safely out of the room. 

**Ali to Adults Anonymous 17:11**

_Sammy hasn't celebrated Christmas since his dad died so we're going to make this the best Christmas possible. Any ideas?_

**Bilbo to Adults Anonymous 17:13**

_We could do Christmas dinner on Christmas eve and invite the extended family around. I'm sure he'd love to see TC._

_I was also thinking it would probably be smarter to do secret Santa for presents. That way everyone can only has to buy two presents (one for their partner and one for a family member) and no one gets as stressed about it._

**Jimmy to Adults Anonymous 17:14**

_Good idea, Bilbo. We've almost finished training but I'll pick up two of the little Christmas trees and him and Ollie can put them in their rooms._

**Ali to Adults Anonymous 17:15**

_He'd like that. Ben's putting up the main trees now and Ollie and Sammy are going to take the lead when it comes to decorating._

_\--_

Sammy rushed back into the living room, holding a box in his arms with Ollie trailing behind him. "Is that everything, bub?" Ali asked, smiling thankfully at Ben who had just finished putting up the first tree. 

"No, there's a couple more boxes but Mama and Jase said they'd bring them down," Sammy responded, putting his box down and wrapping his arms around Ben's waist, "thanks for putting the tree up, Uncle Ben, it looks great."

"You're welcome, bobble," Ben responded, ruffling his hair and pulling away, "I'm just gonna put the one up outside and then we can string some fairy lights around it, sound good?" Sammy nodded, a soft noise escaping his throat when Ben pressed a kiss to his temple before shuffling out the room. 

"What's the plan then Sammy?" Ollie asked as Bilbo and Jase dropped some boxes in the living room before heading to the kitchen to make some fresh hot chocolates. 

Sammy tilted his head, eyeing the Christmas tree before digging through the boxes and pulling random items out. "We'll start with the lights and then put tinsel on. I'm thinking blue and silver for the main decorations." 

"We don't have a star, bubba," Ali announced almost half-an-hour later. The tree was finished and Bilbo and Jase were stringing lights around the rest of the house. Sammy looked at him before rushing off, coming back with a brown box in his hands.

"This was ours when we were in South Africa," Sammy explained, opening the box and revealing a gorgeous golden angel, "I brought it with us."

Ali gazed at his youngest with soft eyes, noticing how Sammy was chewing his lip, looking away in nervousness. "It's beautiful, Sammy," Ali praised, softly holding Sammy's hands and pulling the ornament out of the tight grip, "let me put it up for you." Ali stood on the step-ladder carefully placing the angel on top of the tree. 

"It looks perfect," Bilbo said, walking into the room and wrapping his arms around Sammy's shoulders, pulling his back against his chest for a cuddle. 

"Do you think he's happy for me?" Sammy murmured, his voice quiet but in the silence of the room everyone could hear him, "sometimes I feel like he'd be disappointed I'm replacing him." 

Bilbo let out a soft cooing sound when Sammy sniffled harshly, pressing a kiss to his head and rocking them slightly. "He wouldn't think you're replacing him. He'd be very happy that you've found people that love you and care about you. You're perfect, Sammy, never forget that." 

"Thanks, mama," Sammy muttered, spinning to wrap his arms around Bilbo's waist, staying there in the hug until he heard a car pull up the drive. Sammy gasped, squirming out of Bilbo's hold and running to the front door. 

The door swung open (with Sammy waiting inside because he's a good child) and Jimmy walked in, laughing when Sammy immediately jumped on him for a hug. "Hello, bub, did you miss me?" 

"Uh uh," Sammy nodded, releasing Jimmy when he saw Bessie, rushing up to him and smiling when he was quickly pulled in for a hug, his face tucked into Bessie's neck. "We decorated and it looks so Christmassy." 

"We got some little trees so we can put one in our room, princess," Bessie explained, kissing Sammy softly before he was pulled into the living room so Sammy could show him everything they'd done. 

* * * * *

The family were chilling in the lounge in early December when Ali cleared his throat and everyone turned to face him, expectant smiles on their faces. "As you guys know Christmas is coming up and it'll be the first time we all spend it together," Ali stated, "I know some of you are going to see family before and after Christmas so if you can mark those on the calendar that would be great."

"There's too many of us to get presents for everyone," Jimmy jumped in to explain, "so we're going to do a secret Santa and then everyone just has to buy a secret Santa present and a present for partners." 

Mark grinned happily, practically bouncing in his seat and he spoke, "can we do joke gifts, please, so I don't feel bad when mine's a gag gift?"

Sammy whined, shaking his head, "I hate gag gifts, I'm awful at them. They're not funny just rude and mean," he argued causing Jimmy to laugh and run his hand soothingly through his hair. 

"Yes, Marky we can do gag gifts," Jimmy replied, throwing an arm over Sammy's shoulder and pressing a kiss to his hair before continuing, "Sammy and whoever has him, just do normal presents, then everyone's happy. We'll put all the names in a hat and you guys can pick one out if you get yourself or your partners 

Ali smiled at his husband, wrapping his arms tighter around Joey who was burrowed in his arms, his eyes closing sleepily. "We've got the extended team that are free coming around on Christmas eve for dinner," Ali paused, nudging Joe out of his arms and into Jos's before standing and stretching slightly, "I'm going to get the Christmas pyjamas before everywhere sells out. Sammy, do you want to come with and make sure you like the texture."

Sammy jumped up, smiling happily and running to the front door to put his shoes on. "Can I come as well, dad?" Ollie asked, rushing after Sammy when Ali nodded.

"That's not how you're meant to tie your laces, Samwidge," they heard Ollie shout before Sammy's higher voice started arguing back. 

Ali sighed, "we'll be back later," he announced, kissing Jimmy as he walked passed before heading out to deal with his babies.

\-- 

Sammy was curled around his human-sized teddy before turning into Dom's chest when the spinner slipped under the covers.

"Papa told us about his plans for Dad's birthday while you were out," Bessie explained, smiling fondly when Sammy blinked sleepily at him, "he doesn't want to make a big deal out of it so he's going to open presents in the morning with Jimmy in bed before we do presents in the living room. We're also going to do couples presents alone in the morning."

"Do you think he'll let me make him a cake? Everyone deserves cake on their birthday," Sammy asked, pressing a kiss to Dom's neck and nuzzling the soft skin gently. 

Bessie hummed, "we don't have a Christmas cake so it's not like we'd have too much cake, I'm sure if you ask Bilbo and Chris they'd be happy to help."

Sammy squirmed, flapping his arm around to find his phone which was buried somewhere in the thousands of blankets piled on the bed. 

**Munchkin 10:37**

_Mama, can we make Daddy a cake for his birthday with Uncle Chris's help?_

**Mama 10:38**

_Of course, we can, bub, we'll make it while cooking dinner if you still want to help out?_

**Munchkin 10:38**

_Please, mama._

**Mama 10:39**

_Perfect. I'll talk to Chris about it tomorrow. Go to sleep, bobble. Love you._

**Munchkin 10:40**

_Love you too, mama. Night night._

**Mama 10:40**

_Don't let the bed bugs bite._

* * * * *

Sammy stumbled into the kitchen on the morning of Christmas Eve, bleary-eyed, and dressed in one of Jimmy's old hoodies which fell down to his knees. "Hi mama," he greeted, pressing himself against Bilbo until the blonde turned around to hug him tightly. 

"You're up early, bobble, it's not even ten yet," Bilbo replied, running a hand gently down Sammy's spine and pressing a soft kiss to his head. 

"We've got to make daddy's cake and cook dinner," Sammy murmured, rubbing his eyes harshly as he pulled away and quickly hugged Chris as he pulled the turkey from the fridge. 

Chris smiled warmly, flicking the kettle on when Sammy pulled out a mug for a hot chocolate. "Do you know what kind of cake you want to make? Bilbo and I will make the cake while you make decorations." 

"Chocolate cake," Sammy answered immediately, "I need a big square one and a smaller circle one. Do we have icing?" Bilbo nodded, moving into the pantry and pulling out multiple boxes of icing and food colouring, placing them on the counter. 

Sammy sat down, grabbing the icing and green food colouring and got to work creating the greatest birthday ever. After a few minutes, he looked up in consideration. "can you leave the circle cake mixture until Tommy gets here please?" 

"Of course we can, bub," Bilbo responded, smiling happily, "he said he'd be coming round at about two." Sammy hummed happily, wiggling slightly before turning back to his icing.

\--

"Sammy," Ali shouted from the hallway, "your brother's here." Sammy screamed happily, placing his icing down and jumping up to wash his hands.

Joey walked in as well as a mischievous smile on his face, "if you're allowed to shout does that mean I can shout in the house?"

"No," Ali responded, bluntly, not giving the blond a chance to scream, "I'm not meant to go in the kitchen so I had to shout. Don't even think about shouting." Sammy barreled into the hallway, practically vibrating as he waited for Tom to open the door before jumping on him happily. 

Tom grunted, letting go of Jof's hand and dropping his bag of presents before catching Sammy around his waist. "Hello to you too, Sammy-boy," Tom murmured, pressing a kiss to Sammy's cheek before slowly lowering the boy back to the ground. 

"Come with me," Sammy begged, grabbing his brother's hand and beginning to pull him through to the kitchen. Ali laughed, smiling fondly at Tom before greeting Jof with a warm hug. "We're making daddy a birthday cake and I know it's not the same as dad's Christmas cake but I thought we could stir it and make a wish."

Tom melted, tears forming in the corner of his eyes as Sammy looked up at him with a soft innocent expression. "I'd love that," Tom murmured, his voice quiet and warm, "we haven't done that in years."

"We've also used the angel on the tree," Sammy informed watching as Tom greeted Bilbo and Chris, "I wanted to wait so we could stir it together." Tom stepped up behind his brother, wrapping their hands together and stirring the bowl slowly, both closing their eyes and breathing deeply. 

Sammy left go of the spoon, turning in Tom's arms and crying softly into his chest. Bilbo looked pained, wanting to go over and comfort his baby but knowing that he needed this moment with Tom. After a few minutes, Sammy pulled away, wiping his eyes before slipping out of the room silently. 

"Is he okay?" Bilbo asked once Sammy was out of hearing range, wrapping his arm around Tom's shoulder when he let out a shaky breath. 

Tom pulled away, wiping his eyes subtly before turning to smile at Sam and Chris. "Dad would make the Christmas cake and he'd get Ben, Sammy, and I to stir it and make a wish. When Sammy was little he used to stand him on his feet so he'd be tall enough to see over the counter and then he just never stopped doing it."

Reaching into his pocket, Tom brought out his wallet, pulling out a folded photo and handing over to Bilbo. Sam carefully unfolded the photo, sighing softly when he saw a side-on shot of Sammy standing in front of Kevin, the older man's arms wrapped tightly around his son. 

"He was probably eleven or twelve there," Tom explained, "before life hit him. He loved Christmas eve, used to say it was his favourite day of the year. We'd meet up with our entire family and spend the day on the beach, dad would build sand-castles with him and later we'd all play cricket together." 

"I'm so sorry," Chris murmured, "I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you. You always say it was hard for Sammy but it must have been bad for you and Ben as well." 

Tom cracked his neck, smiling when Sammy's happy giggles echoed through the house before continuing. "I loved my dad," he started, "more than life itself and there's not a day goes by when I don't miss him. But, he was Sammy's entire life. Until he joined Surrey and met Ollie, dad was Sammy's only friend. He was his support system, his emotional regulator, his everything. Ben and I, we learnt how to cope without him. We were old enough and mature enough to grieve properly, Sammy wasn't. Back then, he didn't learn how to wake up in the morning, go to school, and come home without him. He was completely numb to everything and we didn't do enough to help him." 

"I'm sure you all did everything you could," Chris tried to assure him but Tom just shook his head. 

"I love my mum but she's been shit to Sammy his entire life. She never learnt how to help him in the way dad did and when dad died, she didn't have someone forcing her to try so she didn't. Ben and I should have stepped up but we didn't and I am so thankful that you guys were there to step up." Tom left out a small laugh, shaking his head, "I'm not trying to bring the mood down on Christmas eve but I just want to tell you how grateful Ben and I are that you're there for him." 

Bilbo let out a wet laugh, pulling Tom in for a tight hug, "we're always here if you need us, Tom, I promise." 

"Thank you," Tom muttered, "we should go see Sammy before he terrorises Jof too much." 

\--

Hours later and everyone was lounging in various positions in the living room, The Grinch playing on the tv, as most of the room slept off their post-food coma. Bessie was curled between Jase and Bilbo with only the later still awake and staring at the screen. Rory and Ollie had drifted off within the first ten-minutes, curled up together on a beanbag, Joey and Jos had followed quickly after with Jonny and Chris not far behind them. 

Ben had spent half-an-hour gazing fondly at his sleeping boyfriends, before joining them, an arm wrapped around each as the two held hands on Ben's chest. Stu and Finny had fallen asleep, a tangled mess of limbs taking up almost an entire sofa forcing Ali and Jimmy to curl up in the corner before falling asleep. 

Sammy and Tom were curled up together in the den, Jof fast asleep behind the oldest Curran, talking softly between themselves. "Tommy," Sammy muttered, gasping happily and sitting up, "it's snowing." Tom already knew what his brother wanted and stood up, grabbing a thick blanket on the floor before gently guiding the small blonde outside and to the swinging seat, throwing the blanket over their shoulders after Sammy curled into his brother's tight hold. 

"You're happy here aren't you, Sammy?" Tom asked, leaning his head against Sammy's and running a hand softly down his forearm. "You seem happier than I've seen you in years but I just have to make sure." 

Sammy pulled away, locking eyes with Tom so his brothers could see his sincerity. "I'm happy, Tom, don't worry. I have Daddy, Papa, Mama, and Jason along with the best Uncles I could have asked for. I also have my Bessie and I don't think I could ever be happier." 

"He treats you well, right? Bessie? You can tell me if there's anything wrong." 

Sammy blushed, looking down at his feet and biting his lip to contain his smile, "I love him, Tommy, more than life itself but I promise I'll tell you if something's wrong." 

Tom simply smiled, pulling Sammy further into his arms until the small boy was practically curled up on his lap, watching the snowfall with wonder in his eyes. "I love you, Tommy," Sammy muttered a few minutes later, his eyes fluttering closed. 

"I love you too, Sammy," Tom replied, raking his hand softly through Sammy's hair before he started humming softly, the tune making Sammy's sigh happily, tears springing to his eyes as Tom started singing, his voice melodic but full of melancholy. 

_Thula thul, thula baba, thula sana,_

_Tul’ubab ‘uzobuya ekuseni_

_Kukh’in khan-yezi, zi-holel’ u baba,_

_Zim-khan yi-sela indlel’e ziyak-haya,_

_Sobe sik hona xa bonke be-shoyo,_

_Be-thi bu-yela u-bu-ye le khaya,_

_Thula thula thula baba,_

_Thula thula thula sana,_

_Thula thula thula baba,_

_T_ _hula thula thula san._

Tom came to a soft close, his eyes slightly damp as he took a few deep breaths before gazing down at Sammy with a gentle look in his eyes. The blonde was fast asleep, his chest rising and falling softly with each breath and Tom carefully pulled away, slipping his hands under Sammy's legs and pulling him into his arms. 

He carried him inside, placing his gently next to Bessie when Bilbo moved to create enough room. Tom brushed a piece of hair off Sammy's forehead and the boy nuzzled into the hold before turning and tucking his head in Bessie's neck. 

Tom slid back next to Jof, who blearily opened his eyes blinking groggily and smiling sleepily at Tom. "You had a good Christmas Eve with Sammy, babe?" Jof asked, his accent thicker in his post-nap haze. 

Tom hummed, resting his head on Jof's chest and smiling giddily when the man wrapped an arm around his waist pulling him closer. "It's been amazing, thank you for coming with me."

"I'd do anything for you, baby," Jof replied, pressing a kiss to Tom's forehead before closing his eyes again. 

* * * * *

Bessie blinked heavily, his eyes opening slightly when he felt Sammy squirming against him. He tightened his grip around Sammy's waist and pulled his closer to his chest, pressing a kiss to his neck and smiling when Sammy hummed happily. 

"Baby-boy," Dom muttered when he craned his neck slightly to look at the clock, "it's six in the morning, what are doing awake?" Sammy fronted, his eyes far too bright to have only just woken up. "How long have you been awake?"

"It's Christmas, Dommy," Sammy whined, "I've been awake since like five but I didn't want to wake you up but now you're awake we can do our presents." 

Dom chuckled as Sammy rushed out his words, sitting up as well and rubbing his eyes. "Okay baby," Dom soothed, leaning forward to kiss Sammy slowly, their tongues entwining lightly before he pulled away. "Grab your present," Bessie instructed, opening his bedside draw and pulling out a small square wrapped present. 

Sammy handed Dom a large rectangular present which was badly wrapped with the corners of the book peeking through which Bessie found so endearing he had to press a kiss to Sammy's lips before unwrapping it fully. He revealed a large brown book with the word "Soulmate" written across in felt tip and a couple of photos of him and Sammy stuck to the cover. 

Dom opened the book, flicking through pages showing the first year of their relationship before looking at Sammy with the softest smile. "I left the other pages blank so we can fill it in for the rest of our lives," Sammy muttered, blushing heavily before showing Bessie the last page of the book. 

"Our Wedding," Dom breathed out, reading the words and running his fingers softly over the words. He looked at Sammy with happy tears in his eyes, easily recognising the anxiety coursing through Sammy's eyes. "One day we'll fill this page with photos of us and our family. It'll be perfect." 

Sammy sniffled, leaning in to kiss Bessie again, linking their hands. "I love you, Dom." 

"Love you too, princess," Bessie replied, pushing his present into Sammy's hands. The blonde smiled widely, carefully undoing the paper, making sure not to rip a thing before revealing a slim black box. "I obviously can't have you were a collar around the entire time," Dom joked as Sammy opened the box, "but this is the next best thing." 

Nestled in a deep purple cushion was a gorgeous sterling silver necklace. Two angelic wings, with individual feathers carved into the metal, were connected to a small diamond and on the back, Bessie had engraved 'I'm always here'. 

Dom pulled the necklace from the box, slipping it over Sammy's head and letting the pendant fall to his sternum. "This way even when I'm not with you physically, you'll know I'll always love you." Sammy let out a single tear, raising a hand to grip the pendant tightly before pulling Bessie in for another kiss. 

"Come on," Bessie muttered, placing his book on the bedside table before pulling Sammy down against his chest, the blonde still gripping tightly at his necklace, "dad says we can't open presents until at least nine so why don't we sleep for a bit longer."

\--

A few hours later, the family were curled up in the living room, sipping hot chocolates and waiting for Ali to arrive before they could open presents. "Okay," Ali announced walking into the room with a wicker hamper in his hands, "pass out your gifts and then we can go round the room and open them." 

"Sammy," jimmy called out after the gifts had been distributed, "you go first and then we'll go with who you bought for and so and so forth."

Sammy opened the hamper from Ali revealing a selection of comfort items and soft things that Sammy would love. "We can go through it properly later," Ali promised, "but I just want to show you one thing." Ali pulled out a stuffed octopus with a smiley face on one side and then flipped it inside out to reveal a sad face on the other. "This way you can easily tell us if it's a good day or a bad day without it being too hard for you." 

"Thank you so much, daddy, I love it." Sammy gushed, wrapping Ali in a tight hug while holding the octopus tightly in his hands. He raised it to his cheek, rubbing the soft fur against his skin slightly before sinking back into Bessie's hold."

Bilbo was next, unwrapping a thick knitted jumper which had the words 'You're My Favourite Keeper', stitched on the front. "No offence, Uncle Jossy but it's my mama," Sammy muttered, smiling when Jos simply laughed, shaking his head in a non-plussed manner. 

Ben opened a selection of books on fashion which caused him to roll his eyes fondly and frown jokingly at Bilbo. Ben couldn't really complain though because he had bought Chris a selection of Birmingham City merchandise. 

"Ben," Chris whined, unhappily tugging a jumper over his head, "I'm never going to be able to look my father in the eyes again. If my brother's find out I'm going to be disowned." A bright flash caught his attention and Chris looked up to see Jonny holding his phone. "You little shit, delete that." 

"Boys," Ali called out, not wanting a fight to begin on Christmas, "it's Jimmy's turn now, stop arguing."

Jimmy smiled at his husband, taking a large wrapped box from the floor in front of him and laughing when he ripped the paper to reveal a brand-new shredder. "Apparently, it can shred up to six sheets of paper at the same time so next time Joe and Mark irritate you, you can let it all out on that." 

"Thanks, Wiz," Jimmy said, ignoring Mark and Joe's whining, "this will definitely come in handy in the coming weeks." Jimmy stood up giving Chris a quick hug before turning and smiling terrifyingly at Jonny.

Jonny swallowed heavily, picking up his gift like he was handling a bomb. "I hate you," Jonny growled out after revealing a white hoodie with the red Lancashire rose embroidered on the front. 

"Look at the other side," Jimmy replied, laughing harshly when Jonny saw the 'we won' printed in capitals on the back, "just to remind you who's best." 

"I'm not wearing this," Jonny angrily muttered, sighing heavily when Ali frowned at him before forcing the hoodie over his top, crossing his arms and sitting grumpily. Joey reached out, poking the hoodie before shuddering with disgust. 

Attempting to defuse the tension, Rory picked up his present, shaking it slightly like a small child causing Ollie to smile, leaning in to kiss his cheek gently. "This is more for Ollie than it is for you," Jonny said, looking around the room before adding, "and the rest of us as well." 

Rory frowned in confusion until he opened the gift and saw the shaving kit. "Finally," Ollie sighed, "we can get rid of the pirate look." Rory looked at his boyfriend in betrayal before breaking into a smile when Ollie softly kissed him. 

"Anything for you, kitten," Rory murmured, kissing back and missing Bessie's maniacal smile at the nickname. "Your turn, Finny."

Finny loved his giraffe onesie, putting it on immediately and using the tail to flick Stuart who sat there with an annoyed stare until his boyfriend finally calmed down. "Yours is to help our PR team, Jase," Finny informed handing Jason the details for an acting class.

"How would this help the PR team?" Jase asked, growing more confused when everyone just laughed. 

"At least now you'll be able to come with more believable excuses than side-strains which somehow don't stop you using a treadmill when you want to spend time with your boyfriend," Stuart teased, causing Bilbo to laugh loudly. 

"As if you've never faked an illness so you can spend an extra hour in bed," Jase retorted, "Joey does it al the time." The blonde in question looked up from where he was opening his gift and frowned in confusion, smiling happily when Jase just shrugged, motioning for Joey to continue opening his presents. 

"One-hundred-and-one ways to irritate commentators who chat shit about your boyfriend," Joey read allowed, flicking through the handmade book and laughing, "this is awesome thanks Jase, I'll use it every day." 

Stuart went next, laughing loudly when he found a blanket designed for tall people in mind. "Now you'll finally stop waking me up at three in the morning to check I'm not cold," Stu teased, looking around the room to see everyone looking confused. He pulled out his phone, opening his texts before throwing it at Jimmy to read aloud. 

**Joey 03:14**

_You know what I've always wondered? How do tall people like you actually sleep at night when the blanket can't possibly cover you from your shoulders to your toes??_

**Stu 03:25**

_Joey_

_It's half-three in the fucking morning_

**Joey 03:26**

_So you can't sleep, huh?_

_Is it because of the blanket?_

"You're a strange boy, baby," Jos muttered, picking up his present and unwrapping it to reveal a first-aid kit with Joey's name written in sparkly letters. "This is perfect, I finally have a way to fix all of the injuries caused when I bi-"

"Nope," Ali announced, cutting him off before he could say anything else, "Mark, please open your present before I have to learn anything else about their sex lives."

Mark was tempted to let Jos continue but when he met Ali's fatherly stare, he quickly ripped into his present laughing when he saw the prank kit Jos had given him. "This is perfect, Joey and I are going to have so much fun using this." 

"I regret this decision, now," Jos announced causing Mark to giggle hysterically.

"No pranks on Sammy though," Bessie ordered, raking his hand softly through his baby's hair while the blonde looked up at him with a soft expression. 

Sammy craned his neck, pressing a soft kiss to Bessie's lips, "it's your turn, Dommy," he mumbled against the skin, pulling away and curling back into Bessie's side. 

Bessie opened his envelope to reveal a picture of Swanny, "not that I don't love Uncle Swanny but I'm gonna need an explanation?"

"Turn it over," Jos instructed, laughing when Bessie did so reading the text before glaring at the keeper, "your very own training session with Swanny, hopefully now you won't bowl as many full-tosses."

Everyone laughed, including Bessie, except Sammy who curled tighter into Bessie, whining slightly and kissing his neck. "Why are you being mean, Uncle Jossy?" 

"It's alright, princess," Bessie soothed, running his hand soothingly down Sammy's arm and nodding at Ollie to unwrap his present while Sammy calmed down. 

Ollie blushed as soon as he saw his gift, making a small noise before throwing it at Rory who caught it laughing heavily. "You seem to love being called kitten so I assumed you'd be fine with having your very own ears and tail," Bessie teased. 

"I hate you," Ollie muttered, hiding his blushing cheeks in his hands, "just open yours, Eoin." 

The irish-man took pity on his fellow ginger, unwrapping his present before yelping and throwing an English flag across the room. "I touched it, I touched it," he joked, wiping his hand on Mark who was laughing so hard only Ben's arm around his waist stopped him from falling off the sofa. 

"You're the captain of the England team, Eoin," Jimmy bluntly informed him, "calm down." 

Eoin playfully glared at the fast bowler, pulling out the second part of his present and laughing. "If you win the World Cup next year, you have to wear it and post a picture on Instagram," Ollie informed him, motioning to the leprechaun outfit the batsman was now holding. 

"Deal," Eoin announced, shaking Ollie's hand before turning to Ali with a cheeky smile. "There's no explanation for your present but I saw it and I had to buy it." Ali frowned slightly, opening the gift and revealing a cheese printer. "Now, when you miss us you can print our faces on cheese."

"Thanks, I'll try it out for dinner," Ali announced, flipping the box round to read the instructions not quite trusting cheese with printer ink on it. "Before we have possibly contaminated cheese, we'll start with the cake." 

Sammy jumped up in excitement, "I'll get it," tripping over his own feet as he went before climbing up again, rushing into the kitchen.

"No flames," Jimmy shouted, not wanting Sammy to accidentally set fire to the kitchen. 

He ran back in with a gorgeous cake. "I made a little farm for you," Sammy preened, wiggling slightly in excitement, "it's even got little duckies."

Sammy had made a little farm with a small second layer that had a brown barn on it. There were little icing sheep in one corner, a little pond with three yellow ducklings swimming in it, and a pile of chocolate shavings with tiny piglets chilling on top.

"This is amazing Sammy," Ali praised, carefully placing the cake on the table before pulling his youngest in for a tight cuddle, "I love it very much." 

"I'll get a knife and some plates," Jimmy announced, letting his husband enjoy a birthday cuddle with his baby.

* * * * * 

Later that night, Sammy was curled up with Bessie in their bed, a special Christmas nightlight casting the shadows of snowflakes around the room, their legs entangled while Sammy stroked his hand up and down Bessie's chest. 

"Did you enjoy your Christmas, princess?" Bessie asked, kissing Sammy softly, the younger's eyes fluttering closed at the sensation. 

"It was perfect," Sammy replied, "best Christmas ever. I love you guys so much." Sammy's voice was choked with emotion causing Dom to coo before pulling him for a soft make-out session.


End file.
